Man charged with murder in beating of woman at casino

Associated Press

EVERETT – Murder charges have been filed against a man accused of fatally beating a woman outside the Tulalip Resort Casino.

Prosecutors have charged Nomeneta Tauave of Spanaway, Washington, with domestic violence murder in the death of 35-year-old Hana Letoi of Tacoma, the Everett Herald reported.

His bail remains at $1 million, according to a court order filed last week. Charges say the couple got into a screaming fight in the casino Oct. 23 and once they got into a vehicle in the parking lot a security officer saw Tauave grab the woman and shake her before she fell out the door.

The charges say she lost consciousness and died at a local hospital on Oct. 25.

Snohomish County Medical Examiner Dr. J. Matthew Lacy determined the cause of death was a lack of oxygen and blood flow to the brain “due to resuscitated cardiac dysrhythmia due to hypertensive cardiovascular disease in the setting of acute emotional stress following a physical altercation.”

According to the charges, Lacy found the cardiac arrest was a result of the emotional distress caused by Tauave’s actions. Prior heart disease and the presence of methamphetamine in Letoi’s blood put her at high risk of “sudden cardiac events,” the charges say.

Police found Tauave in Lakewood, Washington, the next day with a recently shaved beard, and the vehicle – with its license plate removed – was discovered days later at a home in Yelm, Washington.

In an interview with Snohomish County detectives, Tauave said Letoi began to “fuss” in the casino, and the “fuss” continued when they got into the Yukon, according to the charges.

He told police she hit him, then acknowledged he may have scratched her neck to fend her off.

“He did not want her to leave the vehicle so as she tried to get out the passenger side door, he grabbed her hand and arm to keep her in the vehicle,” the charges say, in Tauave’s version of events.